Publication Date:
2005-02-12
Description:
The formation of carbon nanotubes in a pure carbon arc in a helium atmosphere is found to involve liquid carbon. Electron microscopy shows a viscous liquid-like amorphous carbon layer covering the surfaces of nanotube-containing millimeter-sized columnar structures from which the cathode deposit is composed. Regularly spaced, submicrometer-sized spherical beads of amorphous carbon are often found on the nanotubes at the surfaces of these columns. Apparently, at the anode, liquid-carbon drops form, which acquire a carbon-glass surface due to rapid evaporative cooling. Nanotubes crystallize inside the supercooled, glass-coated liquid-carbon drops. The carbon-glass layer ultimately coats and beads on the nanotubes near the surface.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉de Heer, Walt A -- Poncharal, Philippe -- Berger, Claire -- Gezo, Joseph -- Song, Zhimin -- Bettini, Jefferson -- Ugarte, Daniel -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2005 Feb 11;307(5711):907-10.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA. walt.deheer@physics.gatech.edu〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15705847" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉
Print ISSN:
0036-8075
Electronic ISSN:
1095-9203
Topics:
Biology
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Chemistry and Pharmacology
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Computer Science
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Medicine
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Natural Sciences in General
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Physics
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